Merchandising and dispensing package



Oct. 10, 1961 c, z c 3,003,711

MERCHANDISING AND DISPENSING PACKAGE Filed D80. 23, 1958 INVENTOR CARL ZICK FiG-S BY ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,003,711 IVIERCHANDISING AND DISPENSING PACKAGE Carl Zick, Johnson City, N.Y., assignor to General Aniline & Film Corporation, New York, N.Y., a corporation of Delaware Filed Dec. 23, 1958, Ser. No. 782,500 2 Claims. (Cl. 24271.7)

This invention relates to, a merchandising package and, more particularly, to a dispensing package for lightsensitive material, such as photographic film.

Certain types of photographic film, such as 35 mm. size, are marketed in cartridges which are of standard construction to accommodate all cameras utilizing the particular size. These cartridges contain a spool on which a given length of film is wound and a cylindrical metal cover to form a light-tight enclosure. These are loaded at the factory and sold for use by the purchaser. After the film is used up, the cartridges are generally discarded.

Considerable saving could be effected by the photographer if he could reload the cartridges with film stock which could be purchased at a lower price compared to the cost of a complete loaded cartridge. However, to do so, the facilities of a darkroom are needed, since the film cannot be handled in daylight.

It is the primary object of this invention to provide a film dispensing merchandising package which will enable the purchaser to reload used cartridges in daylight in a simple manner.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a film dispensing package which is inexpensive to manufacture containing a roll of film stock of suflicient length to enable reloading of several cartridges or one cartridge several It is a particular feature of this invention that a separate light-tight loading chamber is attached to the film storage container. This chamber accommodates a cart ridge and permits the insertion of a winding knob for rotation of the cartridge spool, thereby permitting daylight loading of the cartridge.

Other objects and features will be apparent from the following description of the invention, pointed out in particularity in the appended claims and taken in connection with the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the dispensing package with one side removed, showing the location of the film roll;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the side removed from FIG. 1 showing the inner construction thereof;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the closed package with the cover of the loading chamber removed, showing the location of the cartridge in the base portion thereof;

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the cover of the loading chamber in partial section with the winding knob inserted;

FIG. 5 is a bottom view of the cover of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a bottom view of the base of the loading chamber; and

FIG. 7 is a section on line 7--7 in FIG. 3.

Referring to the figures, it is seen that the dispensing package is in two parts: a substantially rectangular storage compartment 10 and a loading chamber 11. The storage compartment 10 comprises a body portion 12 and a telescoping side wall 13, the latter having an inwardly extending circular projection 15 over which the film roll 16 is supported. The other side wall which is part of the body portion 12 is similarly constructed, having an inwardly extending circular portion 16' so that the film roll is centrally supported over these projections. A cutout 17 is provided in the side wall 13 and a con- 3,003,711 Patented Oct. 10, 1961 'ice 2, tiguous cutout 17 is-providedfcontiguously in the body portion 12. The loading chamber 11 is positioned for sliding movement over the cutout 17' in the body portion with thebase 18 resting on the wall in which the cutout is formed. A flange 20 of greater width than said outout extends in parallel spaced relation below base 18 and is joined to the base by a connecting portion 18' extending. through'the cutout forming a groove 20'between the base 18 and flange 20' of an extent justsuflicient to accommodate the thickness of the wall of the storage compartment surrounding the cutout at the .rear of the body portion. .The;groovei20' is enlarged toward he front to permit the side wall 13 to telescope over the body portion 12. When the side wall 13 is telescoped over the body portion the connecting portion 18 fits into the cutout 17 thereby forming a light seal. The assembly of the body portion 12 and the side wall 13 is seen in FIG. 3, indicating also the placement of the cartridge 21 to be loaded into the chamber 11 with the lip 22 of the cartridge facing downwardly opposite the slit 24 in the base 18, as seen in FIG. 6. To insure light-tightness, the slit 24 is surrounded by a velvet material 25.

The cover 28 is so dimensioned as to fit tightly over the loading chamber and has at one end an extension 30 to make room for the shaft 32 of the spool 34 of the cartridge 21. The opposite end of the cover 28 has a circular opening 36 through which the shaft 38 of the winding knob 39 may enter. The latter has a key slot 40 which fits the key 42 of the spool 34 of the cartridge 21.

In assembling the film package, a portion of the film is fed through the slit 24 to form a leader 48 to be used for the loading of the cartridge 21. This may be accomplished in a very simple manner. The cartridge is disassembled and the leader 48 inserted into a slit which is provided in the spool 34 of the cartridge 21 and secured thereto by giving it a few turns. The cartridge 21 is then assembled in the form seen in FIG. 3 and placed into the chamber 11 with the lip 22 facing downward. The cover 28 is now replaced over the chamber and base 18 so that the loading chamber is light-tight, ready for spooling of the film. The knob 39 is inserted so that the key slot 40 engages the key 42 provided in the spool 34 of the cartridge 21. Turning the knob 39 a given number of revolutions will wind a desired length of film upon the spool 34. The cover 28 is then removed and the cartridge 21 taken out far enough to cut oil the film and leave a leader 48 for the next loading operation.

In winding the film onto the spool it is important that the number of revolutions of the knob be counted to determine the exact length of film removed from the storage compartment. If the knob is inadvertently re.- leased during winding operation, the expanding force of the film will rotate the winding knob in the reverse di rection. Under such circumstances, the knob is wound back until film tension is reached and counting may then be resumed for the successive turns.

I claim:

1. A merchandising and dispensing package for a roll of photographic film of which predetermined lengths are to be Wound onto a spool in a cartridge, comprising a substantially rectangular box accommodating said roll, said boxhaving an open side and a removable closure for closing said side, a cutout in a wall of said box, said cutout extending from the open side of the box toward the opposite side thereof, a loading chamber positioned over said cutout and slidably supported by said wall, said loading chamber comprising a base and a cover, said base being of greater width than said cutout, :a connecting portion extending from said base into the cutout, a

3 flange extending from said connecting portion in spaced substantially parallel relation to said base to form a groove of suflicient extent to accommodate the thicl ness of the wall surrounding the cutout and an edge of the closurethereby forming a light seal for the interior of the box, said groove also forming a slideway which enables the loading chamber to slide on the'box when the closure is removed, said chamber being so dimensioned as to accommodate said film cartridge, a winding knob, an opening in one side of said cover rotatably accommodating the shaft of said knob, and a slit in said base portion facing the inside'of' said box permitting said film to enter said chamberto be wound onto said spool in said cartridge upon rotation of said knob in one direc- 2. A package as recited incl'aim 1 wherein the closure e r I 3,003,711 t 7 4 and the wall of the box opposite the closure are each provided with a circular, inwardly extending projection over which said roll of photographic film is supported.

References Cited in thQ file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,198,534 Grabert et. a1 Sept. 19, 1916 1,459,914 Knorr June 26 1923 1,460,435 Newman not. July 3, 1923 1,479,960 Flynn Jan. 8, 1924 2,188,377 Small Jan. 30, 1940 2,219,722 Lloyd i Oct. 29, 1940 2,239,188 Boes Apr. 2-2, 1941 2,298,339 B'oes Oct. 13, 1942 2,613,040

Lewis Oct. 7, 1952 

